Category — Rugby League

From this week’s Big League magazine - two of the Newcastle Knights’ cheerleaders, Larah and Karlie.

I like the way the Knights cheerleading team has gone, more towards the American style athletic cheerleading teams. It stops the complaints about how sexist the idea of cheerleaders are, and encourages a healthy lifestyle. It works for me!

I came up with some more ideas that I’d do as a NRL CEO…

24. Any player arrested for conduct considered damaging to the game is suspended for the remainder for the year from all forms of the game and will be doing community service to repair the game’s reputation. If they do it again, they’re banned for life. No ifs, no buts. They’re not above the law.
25. Allow only two more expansion teams - priority given to the Central Coast, Perth, Wellington, maybe another Queensland team and maybe Adelaide. Nowhere else.
26. Four Nations (Australia, New Zealand, France and Great Britain) every two years, World Cup every four years. Have a “rest of the world” tournament alongside the Four Nations to give the other nations something to play for.
27. Once a player has chosen his state and country to represent, that’s it. He cannot go chopping and changing based upon a whim.
28. Tell Nine to fix the NRL Footy Show ASAP. It does put the game in a bad light on occasion. Dumping Fatty is the priority.
29. Create a end-of-season play-off series between all the country league winners (FA Cup style knockout) in NSW, Queensland and other states to determine the best country league team in Australia. I think there may already be one, but this one I’d promote and put on TV/radio/online.

I posted this list of things I’d do to fix the National Rugby League at the Marathon Stadium forums, so I figured I’d post it here.

1. Tell one of the Sydney teams to move to the Central Coast ASAP. Preferably Manly, but if that didn’t work, I’d setup a license there.
2. Move State of Origin to the weekends and postpone club games for a week. No NRL games on a rep weekend.
3. Change the rep schedule back to City vs Country, then SOO, then test matches. That way, the City and Country game REALLY means something both to players and bush fans.
4. Reduce ticket prices across the board and encourage families to get to games. Any way how, just get them there.
5. Improve public transport to and from games. Energy Australia Stadium is a nightmare after a Knights game. (And Jets games too…)
6. Promote the game like it’s never been promoted before. Old, new, transitional media, the streets, EVERYWHERE.
7. Get regional and rural rugby league involved and fix up the game’s troubles in those areas. This is the heartland of the game and they need help badly.
8. Get more kids playing the game, reduce registration prices where possible and make it safer for kids to play.
9. Setup a proper state team qualification method. No more allegiances based on simply where you play your first senior football. My system would be based upon a combination of a player either being born in, or spent a minimum of 10 years living in that state, as well as where you played your first senior football.
10. Setup a proper national team qualification method. Islanders can only play Origin and/or for Australia if they were born in Australia or have resided in Australia for a minimum 10 years as well as the new Origin qualification rules. Islanders who want to play SOO but not Australia would be capped at four per side and subject to Origin qualification requirements.
11. Increase the salary cap by least 10% of what it is at the moment, and allow for salary cap exemptions based upon if the player was developed through the club’s ranks, and for loyalty to the club.
12. One live game on Friday night, and one double header on Sunday afternoon/night on free to air television.
13. Tell Queensland they have to give up a Origin game to Melbourne as well, but only every three years.
14. Merge all existing bodies under one ARL, have NRL has a for-profit entity as it is now. Do not let Murdoch own the game’s main administrative body at all. This works for the English Premier League.
15. All clubs to have PROPER websites and will be monitored as part of franchise requirements. No excuses, and this means you Newcastle.
16. Setup a pay website with nothing but NRL games, streamed live. This will bridge the gap between those who want NRL games, but refuse to pay for Foxtel/Optus/Austar. This will also open it up for international audiences and ex-pats.
17. Improve radio coverage, as one idiot of a radio operator (Bill Caralis, owns 2HD and New FM in Newcastle, along with several radio stations in regional NSW) will not pay 2GB to take their coverage. Offer it free of charge to community stations as a promotional and community service by the NRL.
18. Stop relying on the video referee and put a time limit on how long they can take to review a decision. Two minutes tops.
19. Change the World Cup Challenge so that the games comes out here every second year.
20. Restrict the number of jerseys teams can use to THREE - home, away, and either a historic or clash jumper. Fans are fleeced enough with the cost of jerseys, and when you have the Roosters coming out with five jerseys, you know they’re going way over the top.
21. Allow coaches to come on the field to give instructions ONLY during conversion or penalty kicks for goal, and they can only do it so many times in a game.
22. Get teams AWAY from ANZ Stadium. Only one team can use it for a home ground. Rant and rave to state and federal governments to upgrade suburban grounds. Sure, it’ll become a white elephant, but that’s not rugby league’s fault.
23. Recognise the heritage of all clubs. You cannot erase your past.

With the Anzac Day games done and dusted, here are my tips for round 7 of the NRL and round 6 of the AFL. NRL Round 7 (Score: 54)

• Roosters (lost to the Dragons 26-6)
• Broncos
• Sea Eagles
• Storm
• Titans
• Sharks

AFL Round 6 (Score: 27)

• Magpies (defeated the Bombers 154 to 81)
• Cats
• Crows
• Bulldogs
• Saints
• Lions
• Swans
• Tigers

Here we go! Here’s my tips for round six of the NRL and round five of the AFL.

NRL Round 6:

• Eels
• Broncos
• Bulldogs
• Cowboys
• Sharks
• Knights
• Tigers
• Storms

AFL Round 5:

• Saints
• Swans
• Crows
• Hawks
• Kangaroos
• Demons
• Bulldogs
• Eagles

Here’s my tips for Round 3 of the NRL, and Round 2 of the AFL

• NRL (Current Score: 8 from 16)
  • Knights
  • Broncos
  • Storm
  • Raiders
  • Titans
  • Rabbitohs
  • Bulldogs
  • Sea Eagles
• AFL (Current Score: 4)
  • Collingwood
  • Western Bulldogs
  • Adelaide
  • St Kilda
  • Hawthorn
  • Sydney Swans
  • Geelong
  • Richmond

Sorry about the delay - I know I’ve already had some wins this weekend, but there you go…here’s my tips for Round 2 of the NRL, and round 1 of the AFL.

• Broncos
• Bulldogs
• Panthers
• Knights
• Cowboys
• Eels
• Storm
• Titans
• Last Week: 5/8

Now for the AFL:

• Carlton
• Geelong
• Collingwood
• Sydney Swans
• West Coast Eagles
• Adelaide
• Hawthorn
• Kangaroos

With thanks to codie2000au at YouTube. As seen on last night’s NBN News, with Jim Callinan at the desk.

New-look Knights overpower Canberra (from Fox Sports)

Well, it may only be the first game, but it’s good for the confidence leading into the rest of the season.

Shame about Simpson’s and Vuna’s injuries though. At least we didn’t lose our star buy/playerfor five months - like Souths and the Wests Tigers did.

With round one of the 100th season of rugby league kicking off tonight, here’s who I think will get the points for this weekend’s matches…

• Roosters
• Cowboys
• Eels
• Sea Eagles
• Knights
• Broncos
• Dragons
• Storm

And there you go. Hope you do well in your tips.